he came spitting fire
on a day like no other
tried to hold you near to me
i heard him passing over
he made a banquet for the stray dogs of the air
he put our love in clear perspective

blue, red and green plumage
trailing behind him now
swaddling the sky in its aftermath
the last day coming down
he made a banquet for the stray dogs of the air
he put our love in clear perspective
rising, rising, rising, rising

I went down to town's center looking for you.
but a mouth full of anger blocked my view.
he took your hand there in the skating rink.
god will give him blood to drink.

saw the two of you leaving.
I didn't want to follow behind.
but I could see the rest of your evening,
burning in my mind.

the sky's black. the moon's pink.
god will give him blood to drink.

I looked over the railing. ice was white
on the northeast side where I saw you and your boyfriend
on a friday night.
I went mining for gold. I struck pure, fresh zinc.
god, god will give him blood to drink.

you're a strong one, you're a lion
you're brave, death defyin'
you're in your car, crossing town.
and i can feel you, coming down.

you're so pretty, i could burst
and i wonder, who's gonna talk first
my muscles all shaking, and blood's turned to foam
it's tuesday, and you're coming home.

your skirt was red and flowing,
your blouse was blue
on the night i locked eyes with you.
it seemed to me like i hadn't seen your eyes since last december.

my shredding muscles
my popping joints
i saw the pupils of your eyes by firelight shrinking down to pinpoints
you were poking at the embers
there's a cold wind coming off the ocean.
there's a cold wind coming off the ocean.

i wet my finger with my tongue and pressed it in the ashes,
rubbed it up against your perfect eyelashes.
you said something really important,
something pretty seems to have slipped my mind.
walls were freezing, so was the floor.
i didn't want to hurt you anymore.
you had a sad, sad, friend in front of you,
that dying fire behind.
there was a cold wind coming off the ocean.
there was a cold wind coming off the ocean.

in the front seat at around four in the morning,
something came down without much warning.
it was bright and shiny and real nice
and it prepared us both for the sacrifice.
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.

in the front seat, you know what i mean.
love came down
bright and hot and pure and clean and ready,
ready for the ****.
and i'll get ready.
but hold my hand.
would you please hold me steady?
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.

i thought that i was in control.
when i saw her coming, i reached out my hand.
you would think so too
but there is something here that you do not understand.
she's got skin like you would not believe.
i saw her skin and i went out of my mind.
she's got skin more perfect that the sky,
and i reached out my hand and left the world behind.

no one knew what i was talking about,
i used to say that what i saw through my window
was brilliant sap and strong white camelias.
now i see her coming, and i just don't think so.
she's got skin like you would not believe.
i saw her skin and i went out of my mind.
i reached out my hand and i walked out into the rain.
i was right behind the clouds.
i could just see her coming.

you will not call my memory into question.
you will not question my memory.
see there was you and me up on a hilltop by ourselves
and then the red clouds dispersing above me
i should have killed myself
when i found out how beautiful you are.
but everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

as the afternoon sky opened up its mouth
and the air cooled down one or two degrees
i felt the world within me screaming to come out
and then i looked up at you and your hair spilled down over me.

i felt you breathing on me and i heard your voice.
your eyes were twin bonfires and your lips were moist.
i should have killed myself
when i found out how beautiful you are.
but everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

come down in the flatland
show me your shoulder
wait now where the black hand touches us
we'll both grow older

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

measure your arm length
i can't live without it
i treasure those thirty inches
i want to talk about it.

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

love you in the cold air
your long hair makes me shiver
above you i see the sun
light up every sliver

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

the moon shining,
three hours into the best part of the day and
i want to tell you that you're so pretty and
the words come out wrong and the rage gets in the way..
dead quiet you looked at me like you were looking into space.
yeah, in space noone could hear you say good bye.
but down here i shouldn't have to read it on your face.
that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

the moon shining down on your body.
you look so nice.
and i want to tell you, but you don't want to hear it,
and i know. you don't have to tell me twice.
but, once would be civil. the moon shining.
i got it in my brain, and i had so much to say but there was dead quiet.
you were silent. three hours into the best part of the day.
and that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

and that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

meanwhile downstairs
i'm setting up shop
a little too proud
to let the matter drop

i can see you up there,
isn't it romantic?
you're huffing and puffing
their chairs on the titanic
and i reach for a glass
of cool water drawn from the rivers of babylon.

meanwhile outside,
the stars have come out.
and the humid summer air
tugs at the ring in my snout.
and you come to the window,
and i spread wide my arms.
jump if you want to jump.
jump if you want to.
the water's warm.
me, i know.
i know 'cause i've been swimming.
blindly along through the rivers of babylon.

the building shook with the sound of wild kittens,
and i grabbed my scarf and i pulled on my mittens,
took my coat and i went down
to the useless lot on the outskirts of town.
the dogs were howling.
the wind was blowing.
the birds were singing.
and i saw you.

your eyes as bright as burning coals,
but ask not for whom the bell tolls.
'cause it tolls for those who ask that question.
and it tolls for those who answer that question.
dogs were howling.
the birds were singing.
the wind was blowing.
and i saw you.

The last of my kind
There’ll be no more after me
I’m a flightless bird
With useless wings
Dumb and wild and free
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

On display
In my solitary incarceration
I pace in circles
So the camera will see
Look at my stripes fade
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

I had no fear of anyone
‘til you got ahold of me
The moon shone through the trees
A spotlight in my final serenade
No brothers left
And there’ll be no more after me

This poem has been a product of the combined efforts of myself and the lovely prrtybrd

autumn came around like a drifter to an onramp
there were wet leaves floating in gutters full of rain.
took to walking barefoot around town
melodies from grade school, kicking in my brain.
saw you on the crosstown bus today.
you were reading a magazine.
I turned my face away and I shut my eyes tight.
and dreamed about the flowers that hide from the light on dark hillsides
in the hidden places.

the brakes howled and the bus pulled up near my house
and I got off at the corner.
pulled my sleeves down over my hands, over my hands.
and I wished I was someone else.
and I wished it was warmer.
and when I got home, I thought about you.
like a desperate policeman, searching for clues
and I almost passed out, just then
and I shut my eyes again
headed for the dark hillsides
in the hidden places.

I went down the the gas station
for no particular reason,
heard the screams from the high school
it's football season.
empty lot the station faces,
will probably be there forever.
I climbed over the four foot fence,
I was trying to sever the tether.
moon in the sky, cold as a stone
spend each night in your arms,
Always wake up alone.

I lay down in the weeds, it was a real cold night.
I was happy until the overnight attendant switched on the floodlight.
walking home I was talking to you under my breath,
saying things I would never say directly.
I heard a siren on the road highway ahead.
kinda wish they'd come and get me
frost on the sidewalk, white as a bone
tried to get close to you again,
always wake up alone.

and as i was crossing our doorstep,
i hesitated just a moment there.
remembered the day we moved into our small house
'til the vision got too vivid to bear.

you were almost asleep, halfway undressed
i lay right down next to you
held your head against my chest.
and a guy with any kind of courage
would maybe stop to think the matter through
maybe hold you still and raise the question,
instead of blindly holding on to you.
but we crank up the heat
and you giggle and moan,
spend all night in the company of ghosts,
always wake up alone

a bad dream shook me in my sleep and I woke up sweating.
ran through the dark to the shower,
already forgetting.
tried to think good thoughts.
trying to find my way clear.
let the room fill with steam,
traced pictures on the mirror.

ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
squint your eyes and hope real hard,
maybe sprout wings.

I clawed my way to the living room window,
stood there in the cold.
the last bits of my dream like figures in the distance,
hard to hold.
I thought of old friends,
the ones who'd gone missing.
said all their names three times.
phantoms in the early dark,
canaries in the mines.

ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
squint your eyes and hope real hard,
maybe sprout wings.

I will rise up early
and dress myself up nice
and I will leave the house
and check the deadlock twice.
and I will find a crowd
and blend in for a minute
and I will try to find
a little comfort in it.
and I will get lonely
and gasp for air.
and send your name up from my lips
like a signal flare.

and I will go downtown,
stand in the shadows of the buildings
and button up my coat,
trying to stay strong,
spirit willing.
and I will come back home,
maybe call some friends,
maybe paint some pictures,
it all depends.
and I will get lonely
and gasp for air.
and look up at the high windows,
and see your face up there

call me the running man
call me alachua county bill
call me dripping water underneath the phospher still
call me roy the ripper tearing at your skin
one day I'll pay for this,
for now just let me in.

it's a straight walk home.
it's a straight walk home.
it's a straight walk home.
straight walk home.
through the generation fields
and the ventilation dome.
body after body, alone.

nix your ***** water
forget your resource management skills
I crawl starving down sloping colorado hills
call me roy the ripper tearing at your skin
one day I'll pay for this,
for now just let me in.

it's a straight walk home.
straight walk home.
straight walk home.
straight walk home.
through the generation fields
and the ventilation dome.
body after body, alone.

i'm never gonna turn off the television.
i'm just gonna let it run all night.
i'm gonna plant root vegetables out in the backyard
and come summer i am going to treat you right.

so put on your chairman mao coat
and let me clear my throat.
let's turn this whole town upside-down
and shake it 'til the coins come falling out of its pockets,
yeah put on your che guevara pin
call the troops on in
we're gonna sail through the night sky like a pair of bottle rockets.

i got a great big secret written down somewhere.
i got a rosary to protect us both from harm.
i got a storage locker full of cow figurines
and a laundry list of grievances longer than my arm.
and i am never going back to cincinatti.
all those bridges have burned down to the ground.
i got the jet pack strapped to my back
and i am waiting for you to come around.

yeah, put on your chairman mao coat
and let me clear my throat.
let's turn this whole place upside-down
and shake it 'til the coins come dropping out of its pockets.
yeah put on your che guevara pin
call the troops on in.
we're gonna sink through the night sky like a pair of bottle rockets.

we had our passports out and the kits to fix 'em up with.
and the hurricane lamp cast our shadows on the ceiling.
i watched 'em box with one another like punch and judy.
it was dangerous and delightful.
it was that kind of feeling
when you said you were sure there was nothing standing in our way.
and the lie ran off and hid itself in the alleys all around  the bay.

i saw you knock the lamp over while reaching for the scissors
and i wondered how we'd ever get by without it.
and you fell into my arms, sweet and gentle.
poison in the water.
little doubt about it.
and you said that one of us would be all alone someday.
and the truth of it echoed inexhaustably all across the bay

crushing strawberries one by one
watching the juice drip down
two and a half months ahead of schedule
the leaves on the trees are turning brown
we got ready for winter, as the sun rose up in the sky
there was something almost soothing in the hard to define
note of terror in your eye

watching the strawberries lose their shape
as the wind blew threw the elm tree
the wind was far too cold for the middle of april
and you reached out your hand to me
it was good to feel your hand in mine
it was good to know you felt the pull too
i scooped up a palmfull of strawberry pulp
and smeared it all over you

the wild strawberries drove me on, as i lapped them up off of your skin
and i could feel your basal body temperature rise as the cold came in

the snow built up around the smokehouse.
the sun shone on the snow.
and the sun's rays were blistering against my eyes.
the long night was well on its way
so i made good use of what was left of the daylight
walking out toward the main street
and coming back home again.
sleeping, i sang a short song about you.
and i knew every word of that song was true.
well, almost every word.

ice froze the green stems of the daffodils
ice formed carrots on my window sill.
i was blistering, blazing away.
and it had always been my tendency to let things slide,
but i went to the window with my eyes open wide.
and you were taking on prospect ice,
coming to ward the door.
you want some more?
i've got some more for you.
i've got just what you're looking for.

i'd had you out of my mind for a year or better
when the mailman handed me your letter
and i recognize the handwriting even now
but i know i'm gonna open it anyhow
and noone's been buying my snake oil, and i
held your letter like a cross to my chest
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
in you.

i walked out into the kitchen
where the light came through the 4-paneled window
clean and bright and it's taken me two years to realize
how much i like the way that you dot your I's
well, i was born in arizona twenty seven years ago
and i got a mean, mean hunger down below
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up all my troubles
in you.

when you come, if you come
make sure you bring some bubble gum.
and a great big bottle of cheap gin, yeah
don't bother knocking, you can just waltz right in.

when you come, if you do come by
make sure you wear your skirt real high.
there's cracked ice in the freezer
and glasses in the sink
you can lie down on the sofa, and I'll fix us both a drink.
and we will teach ourselves to pray in languages
that we don't really speak.
and we will lie about the way it used to be.

when you come, if you come
bring a couple of coconuts and i'll supply the ***.
and i will dim the lights, pull all the drapes
throw in those near forgotten video tapes.
yeah when you come, if you make it out this far
you better leave your pride out in the car.
and you wanna make sure that you bring along some means for forgetting where it was that we went wrong.
and we will teach ourselves to pray in languages
that we don't really speak.
and we will lie about the way it used to be.

the lights are on in your room so tell me, who's your friend?
and the lights are burning in the little house on east end
and I remembered who I was and what I came here for
the moon was caught high in the branches of the sycamore

and on my neck I felt the cold wind
and it licked around my ears and it asked me to ask you, yeah, who's your friend?
and the lights came down over phoenix, blazed again before your front door
the moon was caught high in the branches of the sycamore

a unique energy that could quantify as a telepathic discharge upon death

here come the times of changing tide
here come the days of light and grace
here come the hours of wordless wonderessness
White light will fill this humble place

when you come, the stars will shine brighter than spun gold
when you come, the world will seem shiny and new
my mom told me that someday someone like you would come to set things right
'til you come I'll keep this place ready for you.

i saw the darkness coming down,
it posed no threat to me
i let the dakrness ease its way around
it was every good thing
i'd expected it would be
i saw you coming,
through the twisting vines outside
i saw the new moon collide
with the stars
clustered around her.

i saw the young fruit, of the new lime
i felt your breath catch it's rhythm.
i heard your legs push away the tall dry brush
i saw the moon and the stars
and knew the secrets within them.
i heard you saying
my name into my ear
no one has to tell me
why you've come here,
'cause i know.
i know.
i know.

all sorts of junk in the unattached spare room,
dishes in the kitchen sink,
used straw for the old broom,
friends who don't have a clue,
well meaning teachers,
but down in your arms, in your arms,
i am a wild creature.
                                                                                
floor two foot high with newspapers,
carpet thick with pet hair,
half eaten gallons of ice cream in the freezer,
fresh fuel for the sodium flare,
i write down good reasons to freeze to death
in my spiral-ring notebook
but in the long tresses of your hair,
i am a babbling brook.

let the stars come out, and the moon shine bright
we're sleeping on the porch tonight
wind blew all the power lines down
watch where you step if you go walking around

this may be the night
our bodies fill with light
and we may hover above
the surface of
our warm, lonely planet

let cooling rains come, let them fall
let the grass grow strong and tall
let the dandelions breed
give me what you know I need

this may be the night
our bodies fill with light
and we may hover above
the surface of
our warm, lonely planet

Oh Lord Of Slumber

You've walked the corridors of dream, have you not? When you go back there again, would you tell them I miss the old dreams, the ones I had when I was younger... the ones that made me what I was?

What makes you think you can be so pretty?
And what makes you think you can be so great?
And what makes you think you can be so intelligent?
And what makes you think you can be so far away?

It's no stretch to say that I am pulling out my hair
And darling I'm patiently waiting to fly my *** out there
And I love you

What makes you think you can be so wonderful?
And what makes you think you can be so keen?
And what makes me think I can be so hurtful?
And what makes me think I can be so mean?

Girl you know I'm sorry I haven't been the best support
But darling you know that I love you,
And i would build a fort to protect you
From the wind

What makes you think you can be so terrific?
And what makes you think you can be be so neat?
And what makes you think you can be so beau-ti-fic?
And what makes you think you can be so sweet?

It's no stretch to say that I am pulling out my hair
And darling I'm patiently waiting to fly my *** out there
And I love you

HOW YOU SHOULD KNOW US

DEATH, DEFEAT, AND FEAR

We do not die.
We do not fear death.
Destroy the Body, and the Animus is cast into The Darkness.
But the Animus returns.
But we are not all brave.
We feel pain, and fear it.
We feel shame, and fear it.
We feel loss, and fear it.
We hate the Darkness, and fear it.

The Scamps have small thoughts, and cannot fear greatly.
The Vermai have no thoughts, and cannot fear.
The Dremora have deep thoughts, and must master fear to overcome it.

THE CLAN BOND

We are not born;
we have not fathers nor mothers, yet we have kin and clans.
The clan-form is strong. It shapes body and thought.
In the clan-form is strength an purpose

THE OATH BOND

We serve by choice.
We serve the strong, so that their strength might shield us.
Clans serve by long-practice, but practice may change.
Dremora have long served the dreamer but not always so.
Practice is secure when oath-bonds are secure, and trust is shared.
When oath-bonds are weak, there is pain, and shame, and loss, and Darkness, and great fear.

HOW WE THINK ABOUT MAN

Perhaps you find Scamps comic, and Vermai brutish.
How then do you imagine we view you humans?
You are the Prey, and we are the Huntsmen.
The Scamps are the Hounds, and the Vermai the Beaters.
Your flesh is sweet, and the chase is diverting.
As you may sometimes praise the fox or hare, admiring its cunning and speed, and lamenting as the hounds tear its flesh, so do we sometimes admire our prey, and secretly applaud when it cheats our snares or eludes pursuit.
But, like all worldly things, you will in time wear, and be used up.
You age, grow ugly, weak, and foolish.
You are always lost, late or soon.
Sometimes the prey turns upon us and bites.
It is a small thing.
When wounded or weary, we fly away to restore.
Sometimes a precious thing is lost, but that risk makes the chase all the sweeter.

MAN'S MYSTERY

Man is mortal, and doomed to death and failure and loss.
This lies beyond our comprehension - why do you not despair?

Look upon my face and wonder.
Raise your arms that I may look on them and bestow a blessing.
Know that battle is a blessing.
Know that death is an eventuality.
Know that you are dust in my eyes.
Long is the arm of the Dreamer, and swift is the blade.
Deep is the cut, and subtle is the poison.
Worship, o faithful. Pray your death is swift.
Worship, o faithful. Pray your death is quiet.
Worship, o faithful. Worship the glory that is the Dreamer.

I wish I had more money than I have
and I know that's not punk,
but I need to pay my rent.
I can't survive without money.
I can't survive without money.

And I want to eat red, red meat.
I want to feel it digesting inside of my tummy
and I support animal testing.
I'd **** a kitten to save a human being.

The whole human race are big, big *****.
We **** holes in the world
and **** everybody else
We **** because we are lonely.
We **** because we are lonely.

We ought to give it one more shot
we have to save the world
and bathe ourselves with love
because love is all we need
except that love isn't really all we need.

We need compassion
and we need empathy
and we need love
and we need money
or another way to fulfill the basic needs
we all have

There will come a day when our cells won't regenerate
and everyone you know will rot away, rot away
Your friends and enemies and all your family
we will all be buried in the ground, in the ground
So make the most of it.
Life's too short to **** with.

Once an hour a day I get very sad
Once an hour a day I get depressed
When that hour is over I start to feel okay
because I'm reminded I'll rot away, rot away.

I don't have much time to hang out here and cry
and though that may feel nice
I can't do that everyday Ive had a lot of friends and they've done a lot of drugs
and those drugs made my friends rot away, rot away

They say that Jesus saves but Jesus doesn't care
because he is in a grave, in a grave
Let's be our own God, take care of ourselves and the ones that we love

You are **** and you know it
Your life is garbage and you show it
You will die soon in the ball pit
I'll leave you unsupervised for a minute
You make drugs look like candy
And you are not even worth it
When you were born I tried to prevent it
With ****** and **** and even weapons
And when you came out I said *******
You make drugs look like candy

Medicated, and that made it all right to be alive
The monster boy got killed by the pills that they gave him at the end of the line
It took twenty years to assemble this beast and it all fell apart in two quick weeks Underneath all the scars on his face and his mind was a brand new boy with stars in his eyes
And he exploded on the scene like a geek
And he fit right in with all the rest of the freaks
And he had a lot to learn about the world out there
After spending so long in his gloomy lair
And he made up worlds in his mind
But he didn't need them now so he left them behind

And for the first time in a long time
he was glad to be breathing
and his new face could smile "Please don't take this skin away",
he cried "I'll pay any price I have to pay",
he cried "It's great to have this chance to fail",
he said "I never knew there was life for sale, you saved me, you made me again Oh what an awful secret these scientists kept"

Now he's livin' and lovin' and makin' new friends
And he won't take for granted what everybody has
And in his chest he found a heart that had never ever ever been used He dug it up and cleaned it off and found out it was as good as new
The spark had grown into a flame

And it burned anybody that got in its way
And he took out a few bridges too, but everything burns bright when it's new
And once a monster and now he's a prince,
or at least that's how he felt when he got his first kiss
And he learned how to walk and he changed the way he talked,
and he started catching up on everything that he missed
And he tried to be invisible for so long, now it was strange to be seen
And instead of all the villagers form in a mob they threw down their swords and treated him like a king "I never knew it could get this good",
he cried "You'd never believe how bad it was",
he cried "Please don't take this skin away",
he said "I never wanna go back where I came from, you saved me, you made me at last All my dungeons and demons are left in my past"

Once he sat in his sadness as days slowly drag
Now he burns with excitement and time moves so fast
And there's a song that he will sing
When he needs to remember how things have changed
He sings, "It ain't so bad, it ain't so bad, it ain't so bad anymore
So don't you cry, so don't you cry, don't you cry anymore
No don't you cry, don't you cry, don't you cry anymore

I went down to yale today
Just in the old way
A black dog hobbled past me
His tags jangled on his collar
It made me wish i was dead
It made me wish i was dead

Had a familiar sun on me
Just like it would always be
Rocky soil dry land
I knew it all like the back of my hand
It made me wish i was dead
It made me wish i was dead

A terrific view form here
The sky's clear
The sun's high
I let things lie
And i know what is and isn't mine
And it was good to get back to the sunshine
But 5 years is a long time
And i spent 5 years dying for you
I spent 5 years dying for you

She came from a poor home
On the wrong side of the river
Where she played out in the streets
And dreamed of better

He came from the farmland
Where he worked hard every day
Like a prince in shining armor
He came and took her away

And she never had to work
A day in her life
Everything she needed he provides
She was sweet 16 And he was 22
She'd never had a lover
And he had had a few

He had his heart broken
By a he called his wife
But in her he saw a new hope
A chance for a better life

And never did their love ever fade
And never have their hearts ever strayed
But today they sit in different rooms In the same house
Watching different TVs

They hardly ever speak
They get together to sleep and eat
And I wonder, do they remember me?
Or am I just one of their dreams That didn't work out?
I bet they'd given up on me by now

All they ever wanted out of life
Was a house and a car
And money in the bank
They worked hard
For such a long long time
But at last they got all of those things

So what do you do
When all of your dreams come true?

If you sing my song
And the dead rise all around me
I can make the darkness
Weep and fall

If you sing my song
Lie upon me, all surround me
Ragged roads of distance
Long lost souls

Go

If you sing my song
And the dead cry all around me
I'll blanket you with wings
When you're not strong

Creature calls
Sick angels fall around me
If you're scared
Beware

I always held on to your eyes as I believe
That somehow you'd always be next to me
This empty room reaches out to take away the best of me
There is no silence to describe what I feel inside

Walk with me, Talk with me
Imagine there is nothing that can harm you in the world
Stay with me and Look at me Just wait before you go
This life has done you wrong, Hold on

You're faithless, you don't believe in anything
Captured by life's sadness, You're all right

You're faithless, your head down in despair
Stuck there in the blackness, you're all right

Sort of love that out lasts time
My relative annihilistic thinking left behind
I'll cover you and keep you and your beautiful smile
Vanish from the physical into my mind

Walk with me, Talk with me
Imagine there is nothing that can harm you in the world
Stay with me and Look at me Just wait before you go
This life has done you wrong, Hold on

You're faithless, you don't believe in anything
Captured by life's sadness, You're all right

You're faithless, your head down in despair
Stuck there in the blackness, you're all right

You've got the best of me
You've got the best of me

For my wife to whom I comitt my soul

Cornerstone one has a finger
Buried under, pointing through
Dirt, slow low in the ground
North cannot be guessed,
And yet it is spirit-free

Cornerstone two has a tongue,
And even dust can be talkative,
Listen and you will see the love
The ancient libraries need

Cornerstone three has a bit of string,
Shaped like your favorite color,
A girl remembers who left it there
But she is afraid to dig it out,
And see what it is attached to

Cornerstone four has nine bones,
Removed carefully from a black cat,
Arranged in the fashion of this word,
Protecting us from our enemies

Your house is safe now
So why is it--
Your house is safe now
So why is it--

I AM OLDER THAN MUSIC

WHAT I BRING IS LIGHT

WHAT I BRING IS A STAR

WHAT I BRING IS

AN ANCIENT SEA

WHEN YOU SLEEP YOU SEE ME

DANCING AT THE CORE

IT IS NOT A BLIGHT

IT IS MY HOUSE

I PUT A STAR

INTO THE WORLD'S MOUTH

TO ****** IT

TEAR DOWN THE PYLONS

MY BLIND FISH

SWIM IN THE NEW

PHLOGISTON

TEAR DOWN THE PYLONS

MY DEAF MOONS

SING AND BURN

AND ORBIT ME

I AM OLDER THAN MUSIC

WHAT I BRING IS LIGHT

WHAT I BRING IS A STAR

WHAT I BRING IS

AN ANCIENT SEA

down here where the heat's so fine

i'll drink to your health
and you drink to mine

as we try to make the money we scored out in vegas
hold out for a while

we drink ***** from russia

we get our chocolates from belgium

we have our strawberries flown in from england

but none of the money we spend
seems to do us much good in the end

i got a cracked engine block
both of us do

yeah the house and the jewels, the italian race car
they don't make us feel better
about who we are

i got termites in the framework
but so do you

down here where the watermelon grows so sweet
where i worship the ground underneath of your feet

we are experts in the art of frivolous spending

well it's gone on like this for three years i guess

we're drunk all the time and our lives are a mess

and the deathless love we swore to protect with our bodies
is stumbling across its bleak ending

but none of the rage in our eyes
seems to finish it off where it lies

i got sugar in the fuel lines
both of us do

yeah, the fights and the lies that we both love to tell
fail to send our love to its reward down in hell

i got pudding for a backbone
but so do you

lob some spit at the window
watch it drop down the pane
it's only the guilty who concern themselves
with clearing their names

you bring tidings of hope,
false tidings
when you come here
there's two friends who did me wrong
that you're protecting

it's so clear
and when you speak
it's those two who speak through you
who'll speak for me
the burning and the electricity

sun goes down San Francisco
friends are hard to find
chew them up just as quick as I can find them
try to clear my mind

remember hours at the table
gauze flight light easing through
if there's one thing that I'm not going to do tonight
it's die for you

'cause when you speak
it's those two who speak through you
who'll speak for me
the burning and the electricity

crude little wooden idols and aviator shades
the trinkets and the treasures we brought back from the crusades
some guy in an impala shakes his head when he rides by
but i remember when we shared a vision you and i

worked hard to build this altar, we made it earn its keep
the cracks across its surface spiderweb while we're asleep
the sacrificial stains all spreading out and soaking through
but i remembered when we kept it pretty me and you

and high above the water, the eagle spots the fish
and every martyr in this jungle is gonna get his wish

stock shots, stupid stock shots from the pomona mall
set up like unloved icons gathering dust up on the wall
from films no one remembers, they call down silently
but i remember when their names were dear to you and me

pennies on the dollar, everything's gotta go
the things that we can't even give away, i don't wanna know
try to see if secrets burn when you hold them up into the light
i remember when we loved each other day and night

and high above the water, the eagle spots the fish
every martyr in this jungle is gonna get his wish

To you whom We have seen
Stalking at night by eyes keen
Transcendant of savages
Sating thirst sans avarice
Your coffers stay stuffed
By social graces robust
None know your nature;
save Us
None share your fate;
save Us
None welcome you as kin;
save Us.

I died, I died in the year 2002
Sorry my love, that I keep haunting you
sorry but it's all I can do
sorry but it's all i can do

It was july, it was july when they buried me
it was july when they laid me down to sleep
I know that you wept for me
I know that you wept for me

they put me down, they put me down
into the earth and they covered me with dirt
some people say being dead is painless and peaceful
but let me tell you, dear, it hurts
it hurts, it hurts, it hurts

I dug my way up, I dug my way up
from the grave that very day I followed you home,
I didn't want to be alone
and now in your shadows I will stay
and now in your shadows I'll stay

You were so sweet, so sweet to me
I'll always love your memory
and I won't hold it against you,
I swear I don't mind that you killed me
I don't mind that you killed me

and I don't want to go to heaven
and I don't want to go to hell
I don't want to go anywhere
I don't want to go anywhere

and I don't want to go to heaven
and I don't want to go to hell
if you are not gonna be there
if you're not gonna be there

I'm a ghost, I'm a ghost without substance,
without form but I'll haunt you
backwards through your life
until the day that you were born
til the day that you were born

i'm tracing pentagrams with chalk on to my floor
i'm lighting candles cookin' curses casting spells to bring a storm
that will cloud up over Phoenix, and make black
the southwest sky i'm pushing pins into the map to mark the points for lightning strikes
may the ashes of the university make their way out to the sea
and may the bones of the invaders mix with the bricks of burned buildings
we will make them in to mortar and we will build this town again
i'm calling on dark forces to take me back to phoenix
we'll dig some holes and plant some seeds and grow trees
back in the park so the bums will have some shade to drink and a place to sleep when it gets dark
nick will get his job back when we re-open the Vonlee
we'll watch movies and eat popcorn but this time we won't have to sneak
we'll make music in our basements we'll play 4-square in the streets
we'll carve hexes in our our highways to ward off the wicked beasts
and this time we'll keep our city safe we'll keep our city sweet
we'll keep our city free one by one and block by block we watched it slip away
the towers of our enemies grew taller everyday until at last i cast away
and tried to find some better place but it's wings are wide and cast it's shadow down on everything
so i'm praying to the lord and every other god i know to give me a flaming sword
and some extra lightning bolts and the power to destroy the ones who took our town away
and the strength we need to build it back into something great
and this time we'll keep our city safe... and sam will come back from california
and she will know just what we need to do and all the cool kids that i've met
in all the places that i've went will hear the booming of the battle
and come too and we'll make this place into the greatest place there's ever been
all we want is a place to live the kind of lives to want to live
so i'm rubbing every lantern that i find and i'm chasing every rainbow that i see
i'm searching the clovers trying to find one with four leaves
anything that could grantone wish tome and portland will not save you
and olympia will fall too and gainesville will surrender someday  
and i know phoenix will never be the same
bloomington will never be the same

I wish I was a bumble bee
I wish I lived to love my queen
Flying from flower to flower all day
I'd dance if I had somethingto say
Everybody working to feed our babies,
Such a simple and honest community
Not making money, just making honey
I wish I could make something that sweet

I wish I was a mountain goat
I wish I didn't know all the things I know
I'd eat alpine flowers for lunch each day
I'd take naps in the sun in some secret place
Living high on peaks all covered in snow
In the valleys that no one else could go
What some people call danger I'd call my home
And I'd never have to hear another telephone

I wish I could be them both
Anything's bettert han being a ghost
I wish I was a live
I wish nobody ever had to die
I wish I was a alive
I wish nobody ever had to die...die...die...die